Until This Point (IACH: PeinNagato Route)
by XClayMacionPoint
Summary: Who would accept such a generous offer from her boss? She now had a brand-new apartment all by herself. Though right next to his, it is a bit strange but so kind of him. Maybe she could get to know him outside of work because there's no way she could be so familiar within the walls of the concert hall. [AU - College/University]


For the newcomers, a lot has happened in the main posting Intern at the Akatsuki Concert hall, so without reading that you might be a bit lost.  
For those not interested in reading the work that this stemmed from here is a quick summary:

Sumire is a college student with a traumatic past, orphaned at an early age, a runaway teen, an abusive, much older ex boyfriend. She finally had settled into an apartment with her friend Haruno Sakura and was excited to obtain a bachelor's in Inter media Arts. She joined the Akatsuki Stage Crew at Konoha University as an intern and spent a lot of time getting to know the members. Seemingly out of no where, Sakura closed the lease for their apartment to move in with her boyfriend Sasuke and Sumire was about to be thrown out onto the street. After an emotionally distressing evening, Sumire admitted her situation to the Akatsuki.

In this world, Nagato went to help her first.

Thanks for giving a click. Hope you enjoy it.

XClay

* * *

Hisashi sometimes let her go to the library. It was there she found an old, worn book on stage managing. Asami had told her that learning the behind the scenes mechanics would make her more comfortable on stage. Sumire wasn't entirely sure about that. _How would learning how to set up microphones make me more confident with singing? Oh well, I don't get to go to the library often, so I should make the most of it._ She read one page after another and found herself intrigued by the attention to detail it required. She was so engrossed in her book she had forgotten to check the time. When she finally did glance up she saw it was ten minutes past the time she said she would return. Her phone was vibrating in her pocket.

Sumire quickly went to the clerk and checked out the book and exited the library. She took her phone out of her pocket and answered:

"I'm sorry, Hisashi-san. I was reading and I lost track of time."

"You better be home in the next five minutes." He growled.

Much to her embarrassment she jogged down the street, quickly making one turn after another. She arrived home and jogged up the stairs despite her burning legs. She entered the apartment, panting, and took off her shoes.

Hisashi peeked out from the kitchen with narrowed eyes.

"I'm home. Sorry." She spoke between her gasps for breath.

She took in a deeper breath to try to calm the burning of her lungs and she showed him the large book she had been reading. He took it with one hand and held it up for inspection.

"It's on stage managing. Asami-san said I should-"

"Whatever." He tossed the book onto the counter and returned to what he was doing.

Though she was hurt from his disinterest she took the book and sat in the main room, reading it rather eagerly.

"Dinner is ready." He walked over to her. "Who cares about that boring book? Come eat."

"Okay."

She tucked it into her bag and went into the kitchen with him.

 **Second Year of High School**

"What school are you applying to next year?"

"…I was thinking of taking the Konoha entrance exam…" Sumire looked down bashfully.

Asami gasped:

"That's so exciting! Yes! Perfect! They have that… that stage crew internship program, don't they?"

Sumire nodded.

"It's a really competitive application, but I figured… no harm in trying?"

"Yes! I bet you'll get it!

"I have hopes, but they're not very high. At the very least they have a strong intermedia arts program."

Asami grinned at her.

"Besides that, how are you doing?"

"Someone gave me enough to stay in the hotel for another week. The managers at the hotel were really kind about it too, they let me stay even though I've been there for a while."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Sumire nodded quietly, letting her eyes fall to her desk. _Hopefully, I can find some work before the week lets out._

 **After the Konoha Entrance Ceremony**

Sumire took in an encouraging deep breath before knocking on the office door in front of her.

"Come in." a male voice came from behind the door.

She opened it slowly:

"Pardon the intrusion."

When she looked up she saw a man seated at his desk with a cloth mask over his mouth and an eyepatch over his left eye. His hair was silvery and spiked above his head. He had on a white dress shirt as he shifted papers on his desk.

"Good afternoon,"

"Good afternoon, my name is Koizumi Sumire. It's a pleasure to meet you." She bowed politely to him.

"Hatake Kakashi, how can I help you?"

"Hatake-sensei. I know I am only a first year, but I wanted to apply for the opening for the Akatsuki Concert Hall Internship next year. I know you are the correspondence between the English and Intermedia Arts departments… would you look over my application?"

"Let me see it."

She handed him her completed application and waited nervously.

"You have a good application, but there are some things you could work on here… you have only a few extracurricular's, so you may want to add a description of the work you did there… you don't have much work experience so you may have to do the same there… also… you put your address as the school's address without putting the dormitory you live in." he looked up at her.

"…I don't… I don't live on campus."

"Then you should put your real address."

"I… I don't have an address."

Kakashi watched her as her gaze fall to the floor and her arms moved in front of her. It took a moment for him to realize what she meant. _She's… I see._

"We have a special amendment for your type of situation. Also, I can look into housing options for you… was your financial aid package not enough for you to live on campus?"

She shook her head:

"If I lived off campus then I would get small aid payments once a month, but if I lived on campus I would owe the school money, even with the cheapest available housing. I'm unemployed and whatever employment I do find, I wouldn't be able to afford the housing payments. The aid I received, I thought would be best for now… I've…" she glanced up at him, "I've been homeless for a while, so I'm pretty scrappy."

She let out a weak laugh. He reached into his drawer and pulled out a few papers. He passed them over to her.

"Have a seat and fill those out, if you have any questions, I can answer them for you."

"…an advisor's form?" she sat down and pulled the clipboard and papers into her lap.

"Yes, if you are alright with it. I would be happy to be your advisor." He smiled beneath his mask.

"Un, thank you."

 **XXXX**

"There, now you have a winning application."

He had seated her at his desk while she worked. He brought some coffee and a few snacks.

"Thank you, Hatake-sensei."

"Call me Kakashi instead."

"Okay, thank you Kakashi-sensei."

"No problem. If you need something you can email me."

"Un, thank you!"

She left after thanking him again and walked out feeling far more confident than she had begun. She held the application carefully to her chest. A tall young man with spiked yellow hair smiled at her as she passed and she managed to smile back.

Sumire arrived at the drop box outside the large concert hall. Her heart raced in her chest, causing her to crinkle the paper in her hands slightly. She straightened it out and set it in the drop box slowly. _Here we go. Whatever happens, we'll be okay. Even if you don't get it, you'll be okay. Now, let's go check out the library, then figure out where we're going to sleep tonight._ She started to walk away from the concert hall but she stopped and looked back. _There's no way I'm going to get in… there's no way…_ She let out a laugh. _Stop. Just stop thinking about it._ She shook her head and went in the direction of the library.

 **One Year and Two Months Later**

The moment of hesitation was enough for Nagato to decide what to do.

"Konan, please retrieve Sumire-san."

"…Pein... kantoku…"  
"I'm sure we can resolve her situation for her, quickly. So, she does not have to worry for long."

"Understood."

Konan exited the concert hall before anyone could protest. She found Sumire preparing to walk away from the hall.

"Konan-san."

"Sumire-san, Pein-kantoku is asking for you."

"Is he…"

"Yes, will you please come inside?"

"Sure."

Sumire did her best to gather herself, wiping away the last of her tears, and she followed the taller woman back into the hall. The group had dispersed. Kakuzu returned to his office, Kisame, Itachi, Deidara, and Sasori were back in the hall cleaning up trash and whatever else they could find in the rows. Hidan had strolled into the bathroom to avoid work and Tobi was nowhere to be found.

Upstairs Sumire entered Pein's office and approached his desk.

"Koizumi-san. Please have a seat."

She took the open cushioned seat directly in front of him.

"Are you alright?"

Her eyes widened in surprise:

"Uh. Yes. As much as I can be."

"I'm sorry to hear about your suddenly… perilous housing situation."

"Hah…"

"It may seem overwhelming, but to maintain the well-being of our employees, we are offering you a housing arrangement, until you are able to take it on yourself, of course."

"…huh?"

He handed her a form on a clipboard.

"The lease will be paid for by the concert hall and in exchange you will spend extra hours working at the hall and additionally… you will become my assistant for one month."

Sumire's expression remained shocked.

"…but…Konan…san…"

"Konan is going abroad for a month, to collect info that will improve our operations here. The opportunity arrived rather suddenly. I will need an someone to take her place."

"…"

"I know this is all much to take in. If you need some time to consider it, please take your time."

"Hai, thank you." She slowly rose.

She bowed and headed out the door, her legs stiff beneath her as she moved. Just as she entered the foyer she was stopped by Itachi.

"Are you alright?"

"Un." She held the small stack of papers to her chest.

"Would you like a ride home?"

"…sure. Thank you."

Deidara and Sasori emerged from the main hall and spotted the dark-haired pair headed towards the exit.

"Sumire." Deidara called after her with Sasori following quickly.

She paused and turned to him.

"Are you headed home?"

She nodded.

"I am giving her a ride."  
"Good, you can drop us off after, un." Deidara hooked his arm around hers and glared at the Uchiha. _Just try to refuse in front of her._

Sasori silently placed himself between the Sumire and Itachi. The group exited the concert hall. Itachi felt slightly annoyed that his plan to offer his guest room to Sumire had become more complicated. The presence of the two artists would likely spur some competition, in one form or another.

Sasori pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, but was unable to offer it to Sumire as she was pulled to the backseat of the car. The red head quickly circled and sat on the opposite side. Deidara resisted clicking his tongue before taking the passenger seat beside Itachi who had seated himself in front of the steering wheel. In the backseat, Sumire clicked in her safety belt and was handed a handkerchief. She glanced up at the redhead whose bored gaze lingered on her for a few moments and she wiped at her cheeks. After the first wipe, she saw a black streak on small cloth. She quickly cleaned off the last of the makeup.

"I'll wash this and give it back to you."

"Ah."

The car pulled out of the parking lot.

"Sumire-san."

She raised her head.

"Hai?"

"I know this may seem sudden, but…" he paused, feeling the eyes of the other two men on him, "I have a spare room that you are welcome to inhabit if you can find no other lodging."

Deidara crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh…" Sumire's voice came out weak.

"Not to butt in, but I also have room in my apartment if you need somewhere to stay, un." Deidara said, looking back at her.

Sumire opened her mouth but no sound came forth.  
"You have a tiny apartment that barely qualifies as a living space, there's hardly enough room for you, let alone another person." Sasori spoke, he looked at the woman next to him, "I too have an unused spare room. I've no idea how it compares to his, but it's fairly spacious."

Sumire nervously averted her eyes to the floor. _It's so kind of them all to offer…_

"I…"

"I would think she should decide based on who she is most comfortable with." Itachi's voice had hardened slightly.

Deidara scoffed.

"Um…" Sumire tried to raise her voice, but the blonde cut in.

"You're one to talk, un. Who pinned her to the wall?"

Itachi's foot landed harder on the breaks than was necessary.

"We've already made amends. I hardly think that's worth bringing up now." He glared at the shorter man out the corner of his eye.

Sumire's cheeks felt hot with embarrassment.

"All I did was kiss her, you-"

"You kissed her?" Sasori's voice sounded enraged.

"Yeah, you're not the only one who's kissed her Danna."

Sumire started to shrink in her seat. _Oh god. Please stop. This is terrible in so many ways. How are you all just talking about this when I'm right here?_

"It doesn't matter who has kissed who. Her safety is what's most important and considering both of your lifestyles, I'd say she's safest with me."

"Why? Cuz you can buy her everything with your oodles of Uchiha money, un?"

"What he lacks in experience he can make up for with cash then." Sasori snapped.

Itachi's hands gripped the wheel tighter. Sumire started to feel the beginnings of anger in her chest. _This isn't fair. Don't rail on him… It's my decision anyway…_

"Better than live with a drug-taking whore or a depressed closet pervert." Itachi snarled.

The air changed in the car immediately.

"You want to say that again, un?" Deidara's chest was puffed.

Sasori's hands clenched into fists. Itachi was gearing up when a high-pitched voice yelled:

"Enough!"  
All three men stopped, Deidara and Itachi looked at her angry expression through the rear-view mirror. Sasori was staring at her as well.

"You three are acting like fucking children. I can't believe I just sat here and listened this crap for the past five minutes? Are you fighting over a toy? Does the guy that thinks of the best insult win?" her gaze darted back and forth between the three of them. "I'm sorry but you all sound like idiots. This is unbelievable…"

She sighed and leaned back against the seat. A moment of silence passed and she sat up straight.

"I appreciate the offers, I do, but the moment this became the competition… I…" she let out another exasperated sigh. "Pein-kantoku offered me a lease in a new apartment and a temporary position as his assistant that would cover the payment for the lease, okay?"

The tension started to dispel.

"I'm going to take that offer, but thank you all of you." Her tone became laced with sarcasm.

Itachi pulled up in front of her apartment.

"I'll see you back at work." She unlatched her safety belt and opened the door.

Before stepping out:

"Thank you for the ride."

She closed the door the best she could without slamming it and lightly jogged up the stairs to her apartment. Inside she let out a frustrated groan and padded to her room where she collapsed on her bed and let sleep take her.

 **The Following Morning**

The first thing she did that morning was email Pein notifying him that she would accepting his offer. He responded some ten minutes later with information on the new apartment she would be entering. She filled out the paperwork he had left with her and placed it in a spare envelop she had, to prevent any further crinkling. Amidst her packing she planned a quick trip to the concert hall to turn in her form. _Those guys. Seriously._ Sumire carried a small purse with her and she headed out the door. _I cannot believe that happened yesterday. I can't really believe any of yesterday happened at all. She began her walk to the concert hall._

X

She peeked into the foyer, hoping not to see three particular men before trotting to Pein's office at the end of the second floor. She knocked, waited for his voice to call out, then entered.

"Pardon the intrusion."

"Ah, Koizumi-san. I responded to your email."

"I read it just before coming here. I have the forms for you."

"Of course, thank you." He took them from her outstretched hands.

"I," he reached into a drawer, "have a key for you. The location of your apartment is just a few blocks away. Feel free to go look whenever you are able."

"Thank you." She accepted the key.

"I'll have the details for your assistant position prepared for you in a couple of weeks. For now, focus on settling into your new apartment and completing your internship." He told her.

"Un, thank you so much Pein-kantoku."

"Please call me Naga-" he paused.

She straightened and stared at her boss with widened eyes. He also looked startled. He coughed, raising a frail hand over his mouth.

"That'll be all. Have a good rest."

"…ah… hai…"

She bowed politely and exited his office. _Whoa. That was weird. Was he... hmm…_ She exited the hall without running into another person and headed in the direction that the GPS on her phone indicated. _Naga… I wonder if that was his first name? Pein Naga? That's a really strange name._

 **X**

Evening came and she had brought the last of her essentials to her new apartment. It was a decent sized space with one bedroom a small living room, a compact kitchen, and a bathroom. There was a laundry facility on site that she was very excited about. In addition to the apartment being fully furnished, she found that there were extra appliances that normally would not be left behind. There was a blender, a food processor, a coffee maker, and a toaster. In one of the cabinets was a full set of cookware and in the drawers, was an unopened box of utensils. Sumire went to the bottom floor where she had seen the sign for the laundry room. She found it tucked away in the corner of the complex. After examining the space, she returned up two flights of stairs. She paused at the end of hall at the sight of Pein standing near her apartment door.

"Pein-kantoku." She called out to him as she approached.

He turned his purple ringed eyes on her and managed a weak smile. She bowed.

"Fancy seeing you here." Her voice weakened as she ended the sentence. _That was super informal._

He chuckled and suddenly he was placing a key into the door next to hers.

"Huh."

"I live here as well."

"…oh."

"The apartment next to yours."

"Oh."

"Well…" a horrible awkwardness filled the air, "goodnight."

He stepped into his apartment and closed the door behind him quickly.

 _Oh._ She remained where she was staring at his door. _Oh. Okay. Well then._ She reentered her own apartment and slipped off her shoes. _Uh._ She went to kitchen and prepared herself a cup of tea. _Huh._ She sipped at the burning liquid, not feeling registering it as it numbed her tongue. She set the mug down and stared at the wall with a blank expression.

 _What._

 _The._

 _Fuck._

* * *

All Intern at the Akatsuki Concert Hall Routes officially begun! Thanks for sticking around and thanks for joining us newcomers. Hope I could entertain you a little bit. Haha. See you next time. :)


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